Knockdown arch structure



Aug. 4, 1953 A. DIETRICH KNOCKDOWN ARCH STRUCTURE 2 Sheets-Shea?l 2Filed June 19, 1950 NYEYTOR ple/Trick ATTORNEY Patented Aug. 4, 1953KNocKDoWN ARCH STRUCTURE Albert Dietrich, New York, N. Y., assigner tothe United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the ArmyApplication June 19,1950, serial No. 169,022 l.

My invention relates to knock-down buildings and structural elements forforming the same. More particularly my invention relates to buildings ofthe type wherein a number of structural elements are detachablyconnected together to form a structure which is readily knocked down fortransportation or storage to its orignal elements or to units formed bysub-assemblies of such elements. The building according to the inventionis particularly adapted for use in cold climates where it may be erecteddirectly on the ground without the use of previously preparedfoundations.

With the foregoing in View, an object of my invention is to provide animproved knockdown building and improved structural elements for formingthe same.

A further object is to provide an improved structural frame member ofarched form as part ofthe frame for the building.

A further object is to provide an improved structural element, aplurality of which are adapted to be connected together to form anarched structural frame member for the building.

A further object is to provide an improved method of constructing astructural arch.

lA further object is to provide an improved arched roof for a knockdownbuilding.

A further object is to provide an improved floor for a knock-downbuilding in combination with an improved arched roof structure for thesame.

A further object is to provide an improved knock-down building whichincludesa sectional floor and roof which are so related as to permit alarger or smaller building to be erected merely by the addition orsubtraction of floor and roof sections or wherein the floors may beextended beyond the roof in any direction merely by the addition ofadditional floor sections whereby to provide uncovered floors or walkscapable of being connected to the floors of adjacent buildings of likestructure.

Other objects and advantages reside in the the particular structure ofthe building and elements thereof, combination and arrangement of thestructural elements and assemblies thereof for forming the building,and/or in the particular mode or method of constructing the building orportions thereof, all of which will be readily apparent to those skilledin the art upon reference to the attached drawing in connection with thefollowing specification wherein the invention is shown, described andclaimed.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 is a fragmentary perspectiveview of l one end of a buildingaccording to the invention;

Figure 2 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical sectional View takensubstantially on the planel f of the line 2-2 of Figure 1j u Figure 3 isa perspective view of a structural element-according to the invention;

Figure 4 is a perspective view of a supplemental structural elementaccording to the invention;

Figure 5 is an elevation of one end of a struc- ,tural arch showing aplurality of structural elements connected together according to theinvention;

Figure 6 is a front viewof Figure 5 looking from the left thereof;

Figure 7 is an elevational view like Figure 5 but showing the oppositeendof the structural arch;

Figure 8 is a fragmentary perspective view on an enlarged scale showingcertain details at oney ,l end of the structural arch; and

Figure 9 is an exploded fragmentary bottom plan view of the arch showingan alignment feature of the invention, parts being broken away and shownin section.

Referring specifically to the drawing, where- `in like referenceconnections have been used throughout the several views to designatelike parts, and referring at rst to Figure l, I desig nates generally aknock-down building according to the invention. The building Illbasically cornprises the floor which is generally indicated by II and acombined side wally and roof structure which isgenerallyrindicate'd byI2.

The floor I I is more specifically shown and described in my copendingapplication iiled July 14,

' 1950, Ser. No. 173,73@ Briefly, the floor II comprises a rectangularassembly comprising a plu-' rality of likerectangular floor panels I3.'The' ,wise, each floor and sill panel I3 and I4 includes a relativelythinnerrigid floor-providing lamination I6 of any suitable material. Twoadjacent edges of each floor-providing lamination I6 arev provided withtongue receiving grooves IT while i the remaining two adjacent edges areprovided with complementary tongues I8 for interlocking engagement withthe grooves I'l of adjacent panels. The floor panels I3 are connectedtogether to' form a rectangular floor by any suitable fastening elementsdiagrammatically indicated at i9 and more specifically disclosed in mycopending application aforesaid. Likewise, opposite sides of theassembly of floor panels are connected to the rows of sill panels I4 bysimilar fasteners le. The yieldable foundation-providing laminations i5are adapted to` rest directly on the ground whereby to envelope minorsurface" irregularities so as to minimize the labor of preparing thefoundation for the building. The assembled floor.v may be anchored tothe ground by a plurality of anchor stakes which pass downwardlythoughinclined holes formed in the sill panels Hl.I Each sill panel lil hassecured tothe upper surface thereof in any suitable manner, one or moresill boxes 2l which are in longitudinal alignment and to which the roofl2 is adapted to lie-secured to secure the iioor and roof together.

The roof l2 is supported by and detachably connected to a plurality ofspaced structural arches generally indie-ated at Y22. Tlie'lower ends ofthej arches 22rest upon the' upper ysurface of the sill panels I4 'andare supported thereby. Eachfstruetural archcompri's'es a plurality 'ofstructural elements 23- all of are substan-` ti'ally identical wherebyit ywill suffice 'to 'describe but a single onejof thorn. s best seenFig. 3 each structural-element 23 comprises an l" -'shap'ed angle ironhaving Aayertical flange 2li and a laterally' directed flange extending'from the' vertical flange at right angles. y

Inth'e embodiment, illustratedA each fof the arches 22 is of regularsemi-'polygonal forni. That ieg-each arch- 22 compi* 'e one' half of aregular polygon. Eaeharh v 22 is ,iT-shaped in cross sectionthroughout'substantially its en'ti'r'e length-.f- Obviouslytl'le archescould be semi-circular and' stillretain` the T-shapd cross section.However the illustration of the inv4W i hasbeen restricted` to Uaregular semi-po onal arch whereby the particular structural elements 23are iii-some respects superior to A'sirr'iilar 'arcuate angle irons. Forinstance, the structure shown permits the use of nat'roofpanelis'whiehare more readily-formed than arcuate panels. Thus, Veachstrificturalv element 2 3 vcomprises an Y'elongated straight majorsection 26,l Fig. 3, and a shorter minor'section 2:1 integraltherewith.. The inner portion of thev minor `sectiori is 'a Vstrai'ight' continuation of the major sectioni However, 'the outerportion of theminor section 2T vertically angularly directed-relative toits innerv portion. That is, the outerportion of each minor section 2l`extends vfrom the-inner portion'thereof at a slight vertical angle.`Ih-i's angleinfay vary depending upon the number of elen'ents' neededto provide the-arch.. ,As the aren here illustrated is 0f-180-'andutilizes six .pairs oflelements 23; the ai'igle is 30. Obviouslyvariations in the angle and in the degrees the arch are possible and arecontemplated. A stilfening .-plate 28' is welded or-o'therwise suitablysecured to the "flanges 2e and 25 of the minor section 2"! at the pointwhere the outer portion of the -rninor `sectionangles oif from Ytheinner portion thereof and provides the apex 36; The ends ofthe elements23 -are beveled with corresponding 'bevels 29 'and 30"'for a purpose tobe apparenthereinafter.

In' one method of c :\nstru'cting each" arch 22, pairs lof structuralelements 2'3 are first reversed en-d-for-end and connected together inlongitudinally offset back-to-'b'ack relation so thatthe minor section2l of oneeleiner'it 23 extends' beyond-the opposite end of 'the majorsection 2t of the reversed and 'conii'eotedelem'ent '23 Rfidistered andconnected together in back-to-bacl;

relation to provide an arch which T-shaped in cross section 'throughoutsubstantially its entire length.4 The provision of the correspondingbevels 29 and et at opposite ends of each element 23 permit flat buttjoints with complementary beveled ends of adjacent elements. Theelements 23 are connected together by any suitable cam fasteners 3 l,best seen in Figure 2, which in themselfve's form riol 'part of myinvention.

Each 'earn fastener il includes a lever arm 32 anda Can 'portion 33which is pivoted as at 3d toa bolt 35. yThe c'a'm portion 33 bears onthe vertical flange 2li'. Each bolt 35 has a T-s'haped head 36 whichextends through registering key hoi'e slots 31 formed in the verticalflanges 2Q of each element 23. After passage through la pair ofregistering slots 3l', the fastener is rotated 90 on the axis of vthebolt 35. lThereafter, the lever 32 l'siota'te'd on the' airis of thepivot i313 to the position'shown in Figure 2r whereby the canipartiallykwithdraws the bolt 35 and `causes the 'lf-head Btthereof vtoengage the 'flange '2e of theA opposite eleinent and clamp the opposedelements 23 vtoge'ther in a well known manner. Ob= viouslyhother formsof connections 'could be utilized. j However, threadless 'cam 'fastenersof the general type here shown or the equivalent are particularly usefulconstructing a' building of this vty'pefin frigid `roliifnates astheyperinit actuation *of 'the fasteners. Vwhile the operator is wearinggloves. In assembling Iadjacent pairs of structural units to lfornithe-"structural arch 22, I have provided complementary aligning memberson each' element which also strengthen the lapped gol-nts. These arebest 'seen in Figures 8 and 9. yIfhus, each structural element isprovided in the minor section 2l on the vertical fiange 2li thereof at agiven distance from the apex 35i with any suitable v'align-ing nieinbersuch as the stud 39. Likewise on the opposite side of the apex Se and ata likedistahce therefrom each flange ffl is formed with a stud socketlili' for receiving the stud of the opposed element 23. Thus, in theassembly of a pair of structural units in end-tcer'idrelation to for'nan arch 22, the apices 38' of vthe lapped minor sections '2i areautomatically aligned 'as well as the key hole slots 3? thereof. Also,the studs and 'sockets strengthen the joints and relieve the' yearnfasteners from shearing strains. Inasmuch as the structural elementsare' identical, lthe connecting together of a pluralityvof` pairsther-eef in the same manner will inherently forrn 'identical structuralunits. When enough of such units are connected together in endete-endrelation they will of necessity form al regularsemi-poiygonal-arch asshow-n in Figure 1.

' However it will Toe noted that the lower ends ci the varchl willnormally not be 'lf-shaped in cross ecti'on as they 'will be formed bythn angularly inwardly extending outer portions of the minor sections 21of the lowermost structural elements 23. `To strengthen-the arches atthese points-y I have provided the supplemental structural elements 4Ibest seen in Figures 4 to 7. Each supplemental structural element 4l isan L-shaped angle iron having beveled ends 29 and 30 corresponding tothe beveled ends 29 and 30 of the elements 23. As best seen in Figures5, 6, 7 and 8, the supplementary elements 4l are connected to thoseminor sections 2l which comprise the lower ends of the lowermostelements 23 so that the beveled ends 30 thereof are flush with thebeveled ends 30 of such elements so as to rest atop the upper surfacesof the sill panels I4. Likewise, this arrangement provides diverginglower ends of inverted V-shaped form for the opposite ends of the archwhereby the weight of the same is distributed, to some extent, upon thesill panels i4.

When knocking down the building in frigid country, there is a distinctpossibility that the abutting flanges 24 of the connected elements 23will tend to freeze together by the freezing of condensation of othermoisture on the abutting surfaces thereof. To facilitate separation ofsuch elements, the lower edges of the flanges 24 are provided withcomplementary recesses 42 which register to provide screw driver slotswhen elements 23 are connected together, Figure 2. Thus, a screw driveror like tool may be readily inserted between frozen flanges to pry theelements 23 apart.

To complete the roof l2 a plurality of roof panels 43 have beenprovided. Each panel 43 is substantially identical and is provided onits under surface adjacent the marginal edges thereof with a series ofrecesses 44, Figure 2. The recesses 44 have closure plates 45 formedwith key hole slots 46 for receiving the T-heads 36 of cam bolts 35 offasteners 3|. Such bolts 35 extend through key hole slots 31 in thelateral flanges 2'5 of members 23 whereby the roof panels may bedetachably connected to the arches 22. The roof panels 43 have edgesformed with resilient gaskets 41 which are adapted to be abutted andcompressed to form fluidtight joints between adjacent roof panels 43.

As clearly seen in Figure 2 the fastening and unfastening of the severalelements, panels 4and units may be readily accomplished from within thebuilding l!) whereby the erection and taking down of the building ininclement weather is facilitated.

The lower edges of the lowermost roof panels 43' are detachably securedto the sill boxes 2l in any suitable manner (not shown) as by bolts orcam fasteners, whereby the roof l2 is rigidly connected to the oor Il.In view of the rigid connection between the roof l2 and the arches 22,the latter need not be connected to the floor but `simply rest thereon.Obviously, if desired, the lower ends of the arches 22 could bedetachably connected to the sill boxes 2l or to the sill panels I4 inany suitable or well known manner.

As best seen in Figure 1 it is noted that the outer edges of the sillpanels i4 extend outwardly of the roof panels 43 and that the end edgesof the floor panels I3 extend forwardly and rearwardly of the front andrear edges of the roof I2. Thus it is apparent that such extending edgesof the sill and floor panels may be readily connected to complementaryedges of the iioors of adjacent buildings for mutual support and/or toporches or sidewalks formed by single or multiple assemblies of floorpanels or sill panels. Obviously, the length of the building may bevaried by adding or subtracting appropriate sub-assemblies of'roof anddoor sections. y l

Moreover, while I have shown `and described what is now thought to beapreferred embodiment of the invention, itis to be understood that thesame is susceptible of other forms 'and expressions. Consequently I donot limit myself tothe precise structures shown and describedhereinabove except as hereinafter claimed.

I claim:

1.1 A regular semi-polygonal arch, comprising a plurality ofsubstantially identical angle elementsof L-shaped cross section, eachelement comprising a relativelylong leg and a relatively short legextending from said long leg at lan angle, each element comprising amajor section comprising the major portion of said long leg and a; minorsection comprising 'said short leg and an adjacent portion of said longleg of the same length as said short leg, a plurality of arch formingunits, each unit comprising .a pair of said elements, said elements ofeach pair being reversed end-for-end and disposed with the majorsections thereof in registered back-toback relation, means connectingsai-d registered major sections together and thereby `forming aplurality of arch units, each arch unit having a central portion ofT-shaped 4cross section and end portions of L-shaped cross section, saidend portions comprising the minor sections of the paired elements, andmeans connecting the end portions of a plurality of said units togetherin registered back-to-back relation and thereby forming said arch.

2. The structure of claim 1, wherein said minor section of each elementis formed with a laterally directed alignment stud and an oppositelydirected and complementary stud socket in spaced relation thereto, andsaid studs and sockets of said connected end portions of said unitsbeing interengaged.

3. A structural unit for constructing a regular semi-polygonal arch,said unit comprising a pair of substantially identical angle elements ofL-shaped cross section, each element comprising a relatively long legand a relatively short leg extending angularly of said long leg, eachelement comprising a major section comprising a major portion of saidlong leg and a, minor section comprising said short leg and an adjacentportion of said long leg of the same length as said short leg, saidelements being reversed end-for-end and disposed with the major sectionsthereof in registered back-to-back relation, means connecting saidregistered major sections together and thereby forming said unit, andsaid unit having a -central portion of T- shaped cross section formed bysaid connected major sections and end portions of L-shaped cross sectionformed by said minor sections.

4. The structure of claim 3, wherein said minor section of each elementis provided with a laterally directed alignment stud and an oppositelydirected and complementary stud socket in spaced relation thereto, andsaid studs and sockets of each minor section being on opposite sides ofand equally spaced from the intersection of said long and short legs.

5. The structure of claim 1, wherein the uppermost of said connected endportions of said units comprise the apex of said arch and the lowermostend portions on opposite sides of said apex comprise the lower terminiof said arch, a pair of straight supplementary terminal 7. elementsv of-Li/shaped 1Across,`` section, `means; rigidlyI conneoti-ng said;terminal' elementstoV said.

`lowermost end portions in back-to-baclcrela-r tion' to those-` partsIthereof-Y whionfcomprise said FOREIGN PATENTS adjacent portionsl ofthelong-:legs'off therespon?,V 5

tiveI elements.- saidy 'terminal-elements having lowerAendscompris.ing.y downward aontnuations of-such long' legs, land.Said-lower" ends diverging-fromfthe.A associated angularly directedshort legs and provdin'gt'rgid--and invertedV V--shaped ends of saidarch.

LB'ERT- DIETRICH.

'ReferencesfCited the le:v (if-thisv` patent f UNITED- STATES Name' Date'Rector L 'MayV 8, 1'9`00 Number OTHER.4 REFERENCES Ser. No. 319,098,Faure et a1. (A. P. 0.), pub- 15 lished June 15,1943.

